Just One Wish
by Cerise S
Author's note: This chapter might not make any sense the first time you read through it. So bear with it. I don't want to give anything away, so I've explained it at the bottom. So just follow along, and you'll get it afterwards.
Chapter Two
Harry turned and groaned as he felt his back muscles ache slightly. He couldn't remember anything he had done yesterday that would have made him sore. He rubbed his back which was tender.
"Ron? You up yet?" he asked slowly. "I had this really weird dream, and no it wasn't related to Voldemort". He opened his eyes in the direction of Ron's bed, only to realize it wasn't there. He blinked as he realized he wasn't even in the same bed he had been when he went to sleep last night. He knew instantly that he wasn't in 12 Grimmauld Place either. He attempted to stay calm as he got out of bed and reached for the glasses on the table near his bed.
He thought quickly of his strange dream last night. The one with the fairy Xing, who called herself a star-keeper who granted wishes. Glancing around he saw a messy room filled with Quidditch posters and merchandise. His heart began thumping heavily. Was it possible that the wish he had thought he had dreamed of had actually come true? If this really was a world where Harry wasn't the boy who lived then that meant one thing that struck Harry's mind prominently.
He yanked open the door to the room, and navigated his way down a flight of stairs, and into a kitchen where he saw a woman with auburn hair and sparkling emerald eyes, his mother, Lily Evans/Potter. And a man who looked so much like Harry, he would have thought he was staring into a mirror, his father, James Potter. He stared at them wordlessly, not sure what to say.
Lily looked up from cooking, "Harry? What are you doing up so early?" she asked smiling at him, "I don't think I've ever seen you up before 8 in the morning ever"
Harry put a hand on the table to steady himself, "Mum? Dad?" his voice was trembling uncontrollably. Both parents stared at him with concern.
"Are you sick, Harry?" Lily asked, "You were very busy yesterday. And all that quidditch without a jacket.."
Harry was scarcely aware of how deeply he was breathing as his father stood from his chair walking over to him. His breathing became more labored as James got closer.
"Just how hard did that Sirius hit you with that bludger?" James asked, "You seemed ok yesterday, but that was a good whack in your back. And Sirius is pretty good with those clubs"
"You didn't tell me Harry got hit with a bludger" Lily said sharply.
"Must have slipped my mind" James said, innocently, "It was just on his back"
Harry swallowed slowly, "I'm fine" he said. He let his mother hug him trying to restrain from crying hysterically on her shoulder.
"Well, I bet you're tired! That was some birthday you had yesterday!" James said, "Not to mention that broom Sirius and Remus got you. How come they've never given me a firebolt?"
Lily smiled and leaned over kissing James on his forehead, "Probably to keep your ego from inflating even more"
Harry sank weakly into a chair taking in everything around him. It was overwhelming to even think that this wasn't some strange dream. But he'd had life-like dreams, premonitions in a sense before, and this seemed more real than any of those had. His eyes caught a small mirror hanging on the wall. He brushed his hair on his forehead to the side slightly and saw nothing. His forehead was bare, no evidence that the lightning bolt shaped scar had ever been there. He let his eyes gaze over his reflection, then to both of his parents smiling and joking. A smile began widening and lighting up his entire face as he accepted that Harry Potter was no longer the boy who lived, but an ordinary boy like every other wizard in the world.
~*~*~
Ron rolled out of bed lazily. He had no idea what time it was, but he hoped it wasn't too late. He had hoped to hang out with Harry a little while longer before he returned to his relative's house. He felt unbelievably guilty that Harry had to go back after all the fun they had shared yesterday. He knew Harry hated staying at his muggle home, and he found time at Grimmauld Place much more exciting with Harry around.
He approached Harry's bed where he was sleeping soundly. Despite the racket Ron knew he had made getting dressed and ready for the day. "Harry? Get up you lazy prat!" he said, "Don't' tell me you plan on wasting your last few hours here sleeping!"
He reached over and shook Harry, but he didn't wake. A momentary panic swept Ron, but he persisted. "Harry! WAKE UP" he said loudly, this time hitting him firmly on the back. Still no sign of life.
Ron stood frozen in horror for a moment staring at Harry's shape on the bed. His eyes were wide in shock, and he couldn't figure out how to move his legs to get help. He managed to salvage his voice and croak help. Each cry for help more loud and urgent than the last. Oly seconds later he was shouting at the top of his lungs. "Someone! HELP! Oh God, someone help!"
Mrs. Weasley came flying into the room frantically followed by Lupin, Hermione, and Ginny.
"Ron? Ron, what's wrong?" Mrs. Weasley cried looking him over trying to detect the problem. "What's happened?"
Ron shook his head and pointed at Harry. "It's Harry! Something's wrong with Harry!" he said.
Both Lupin and Mrs Weasley scurried over to Harry's bed leaning over him. They both examined him trying to see the problem.
"Ron, I don't see anything" Mrs Weasley said.
Ron let out a cry of frustration. He marched over to the bed and seized Harry's shoulders and shook him. Harry's limp form fell against the bed as Ron let go.
Lupin's face whitened as he looked at Mrs Weasley who was now trying to wake Harry desperately.
"Harry? Come on, Harry, dear! Wake up now dear" her voice was forced with gentleness, but there was an edge of panic laced in the tone.
Hermione had come over to Ron's side now and was holding his hand tightly with tears starting to form in her eyes.
"He's...He's..not......d..dead, is he?" Ginny asked softly looking horrified.
"He's breathing" Lupin said with difficulty. He stood up and looked at the empty portrait on the wall, "Phineas? Are you there?"
A moment later the familiar face of Phineas Nigellus appeared in the frame yawning, "Now what do you want?"
"I need you to go to Dumbledore and tell him that Harry's ill" Lupin said, "Tell him he must come here immediately, that it's an emergency"
Phineas grumbled as he started to face from the picture. "Back and forth, every day! Ungrateful wizards"
Mrs Weasley now had tears streaming down her face as she cradled Harry's resting body. Lupin was watching the frame anxiously with one arm supporting Ginny. Ron's hand was almost completely crushed under Hermione's vice grip, but he didn't try to loosen his hand. Nor did he push Hermione away when Hermione leaned her head against his shoulder. Nobody saw the fairy like creature, Xing, watching through the window sadly, before returning into the sky. ~*~*~
Harry's mind was racing with hundreds of questions. He couldn't even slow his thoughts down enough to pick which one he should ask first. He ate hungrily at the food Lily had put in front of him. And a small part of him knew that Lily and James thought he, Harry, had gone nuts.
"So what are we doing today?" Harry asked.
"Oh, your father and I have a business meeting" Lily said, "But if you'd like, bring Sandra over, and you two can stay here, if you both promise not to go wandering off and behave"
Harry's mind filled with even more questions, "Who's Sandra?"
Both James and Lily were now eyeing him curiously. Harry had the distinct feeling he should have picked a more subtle way of asking.
"Don't tell me you've broken up with her already" Lily said, "I really like her, and she's such a sweet girl."
James laughed, "Not to mention you've only been talking about her all summer!" he said, "I find it hard to believe you don't like her anymore"
Harry froze, taking in what they were saying. They made it sound like Sandra was his girlfriend or something like that. He shuddered at the memory of his disasters with Cho. But he figured he'd best play it out the best he could, "Oh that Sandra! I thought you were talking about someone else" he said feebly.
James laughed, "You guys can hang out inside today" he said, "I don't want you guys outside by yourselves"
"Why not?" Harry asked, curious why being outside was such a concern. He would've thought his parents would be more concerned about him being inside alone with a girl.
His parents shifted uncomfortably, "There was another attack last night" Lily said softly, "Not far from Godric's Hollow, I'm afraid"
"Attack" Harry felt the excited rush drop as he echoed the word dully.
James nodded grimly, "Whole family" he said, "Children included. He'll stop at nothing. He hasn't got a soul, I swear."
Harry could feel his blood growing cold. Attack. It could only mean one thing. It was something he had overlooked in his hasty excitement. It had never occurred to him that Voldemort would be around. But now that he thought about it numbly, he realized how much it made sense. Without a prophecy, there was no attack on Godric's Hollow killing his parents, and that meant Voldemort's killing curse never backfired upon Harry and to Voldemort. He felt an uneasy wave overcome him briefly, but shrugged it aside.
"I'll stay inside" Harry promised.
"You know how to contact us if you need us" James said, he indicated the mirror on the wall. Harry was instantly reminded of the two way mirror that Sirius had given him last year.
"Well, I'll go floo over to Sandra's house" Lily said, "I daresay, her parents will want to make sure she arrives here with an adult"
Harry nodded as Lily walked out of the kitchen. Harry looked at James who grinned at him. "I think Padfoot, Moony, and Wormtail might come over this evening" he said, "Why don't you invite Sandra too. Padfoot's been dying to meet her"
"Uh, ok" Harry said, "I'll see what she thinks"
James raised his eyebrows, "You might want to change out of your pajamas before she gets here" he suggested with a smirk.
Harry blushed as he stared at the Gryffindor pajamas he was wearing. With another glance at his father, he turned back up the stairs to the room he had woken up in this morning. Once the door was closed behind him, he let out a long slow breath. This was his life now.
He looked into his drawers changing into clothes. He let his eyes explore the room. There were all sorts of Quidditch related things scattered everywhere. He saw some school books roughly pushed aside.
"Harry?"
Harry turned to the door and saw a girl poke her head through the door. She had shoulder length brown hair, with glittering blue eyes. She smiled at him nervously.
"Sandra?" he asked, feeling very uncomfortable.
Sandra smiled shyly, "Hello Harry" she said, "It's really nice to see you"
Harry opened his mouth to speak, but couldn't think of a single thing to say. He had never felt more helpless in his life than now.
Sandra shifted uncomfortably, "I've missed you" she added after a pause.
"Me too" Harry said quickly, "How's your summer been?"
Sandra was smiling widely now as she walked closer to Harry, "It's been good. Except for the attacks. They're so frightening. I keep wondering who it'll be next" Sandra said, "What about you?"
Harry tensed, "It's been nice. I played Quidditch with my dad, Sirius, Lupin, and Pettigrew yesterday. And Sirius and I raided Zonko's last week". Harry couldn't figure out where he had remembered that from, but somehow he knew it had happened.
"Oh, how stupid of me!" Sandra wailed, "It was your birthday yesterday! Oh, I didn't even get you a present! Harry, I'm so sorry! I'm such an idiot"
"Don't worry about it! It's ok! I don't need a present. Consider being here today a present" Harry said quickly, he sat there silently praying Sandra wouldn't start crying. Was it some curse that no matter what happened he was destined to over-emotional girls.
Sandra looked at him apprehensively, "It's not ok! What kind of girlfriend forgets her boyfriend's birthday! I'll get you one tomorrow and give it to you when we go back to school. I swear!"
Harry shook his head, "You don't have to do that" he said, "I'm serious, I don't need a present or anything. Let's just talk"
Sandra looked up him in surprise.
"What?"
Sandra shook her head disbelievingly, "What happened to you this summer?" she asked.
"What are you talking about?" Harry asked in confusion.
"It's just, you've never been this understanding before. You seem so much more laid back than you normally are" Sandra said looking guilty all of the sudden.
"Laid back?" Harry had a horrifying fleeting image of himself acting like he had seen his father act in Snape's pensieve.
Sandra shrugged apologetically, "It's not a bad thing" she said quickly, "I mean, everyone loves you at school."
Harry felt his stomach turning nervously. He didn't want to think that he might be some attention craving boy at school. Acting just like Snape was always telling him he did.
"Forget I said anything" Sandra said, "I'm just being dumb"
Harry's eyes met Sandra's. Her eyes so eager to please him and make him like her. He felt guiltily upon himself. Just what reputation did he have in this world that would make such small things seem important to Sandra. Another uneasy wave, but he ignored it. Perhaps his new life wasn't completely perfect, but Harry was sure he could make it work in the end.
~*~*~
Dumbledore arrived quickly at Grimmauld Place. He didn't bother knocking or ringing the doorbell. He stepped in and came up the stairs where he found everyone still around Harry's bed frantic.
"What's going on?" he asked at once.
There was a start in the room at his arrival. But they were quick to respond altogether, and Dumbledore was forced to ask them to all quiet themselves, and asked Lupin to explain the situation.
"Ron called us upstairs telling us he couldn't wake Harry. Molly and I attempted to revive him, but he hasn't woken him. He's not feverish, and he's not showing any signs of being sick." Lupin said, "We can't detect any spells or charms either"
Dumbledore frowned and he looked at the portrait where Phineas was pretending to not be paying attention. "Phineas, if you were following orders you should have been watching Harry the entire evening"
"Ah, Dumbledore are you implying I was doing anything but what you asked of me?" Phineas asked.
Dumbledore's frown deepened, "I should hope that is not an issue" he said, "If you were watching Harry, as you were instructed, then you may be able to give us something that might explain Harry's peculiar condition"
"It was a long night" Phineas mumbled, "I may have dozed off at certain points, but uh, let's see now."
Dumbledore's face was hardening as Phineas continued to mumble useless things.
"There was that point where he was talking to some fairy or something or other" Phineas said, finally producing something useful. Dumbledore was glaring at him to continue, "Mentioned something about wishes. I'm sorry Dumbledore, I have to confess I wasn't really paying attention."
Dumbledore turned from the portrait furiously. His eyes looked at Molly who was still holding Harry.
"Fairy? And wishes?" Ron asked, "That's a lot of help"
"But it is!" Hermione suddenly said, "I don't suppose! Ooh, if only I'd brought that book with me!"
All eyes were watching in various degrees of bewilderment and hope. Hermione stared at all the faces watching her, "I don't know what it is exactly, but the word fairy and wish rings a bell!" she said, "I just wish I could remember where I read it"
"What are you talking about?" Ron asked.
Dumbledore was staring at Hermione thoughtfully, "I think you may be onto something" he said, "It does seem to be ringing a bell with me as well. But in my age I've read so many books it could be just about any book"
"It could be any book with Hermione" Ron said groaning. "Besides didn't you just say you sold a whole lot of your books this summer in Diagon Alley?"
Hermione's eyes widened, as her face paled. She nodded slowly, "I did".
Lupin stared at Hermione, "Hermione, can you remember anything at all? Anything that could help us with Harry or in finding this book?"
Hermione's face screwed tight as she concentrated on remembering something. She began pacing back and forth for several minutes. After five minutes she stopped and said, "Star-keepers! Little fairies who grant wishes to people!"
"I thought that was just a myth" Mrs Weasley said. "An old fairy tale to explain why people wish on falling stars"
"But there's truth in every myth" Hermione countered, "After all, noone thought the chamber of secrets was real, and look what happened with that"
Dumbledore nodded, "I think we are going to have to do some research on these star-keepers, as my knowledge on them is very limited. Come, to Hogwarts. The library will have what we are looking for, I'm sure!"
They hoisted Harry's body out of the bed and carried it to the fireplace. They traveled by floo powder to Hogwarts. Mrs Weasley brought Harry to the hospital wing for Madame Pomfrey to tend Harry. Ron was sent to the owlery and sent a letter to Harry's muggle home, saying Harry was going to spend the summer with them. Lupin and Hermione followed Dumbledore to the library.
The three devoured book after book in myths. It was Hermione who found information first!
"This is it! This is the book" she cried triumphantly and opened the book hastily"Listen, Star-keepers are known to be fairy creatures who travel among the stars. Sightings of these strange fairies are so rare, that through time they have come to be believed as nothing more than myths. There are very few star-keeper encounters recorded in history. However almost all encounters with a star-keeper has been with a person feeling an emotion of despair. An encounter with a star-keeper has been recorded as being offered a chance to make one wish, which is why so little is known about star-keepers beyond their ability to grant wishes."
Hermione handed the book to Dumbledore dismayed, "That doesn't really help us much, I'm afraid."
"But was Harry truly that unhappy?" Dumbledore asked reading it over. "All of the cases listed here make the person sound almost suicidal. Harry's letters have all seemed happy enough to me recently"
"As have mine" Hermione said.
Lupin shook his head, "Letters can be deceiving" he said, "I was going to tell you this, but before we arrived at headquarters yesterday. Harry was very upset. We shouldn't have sent him to his relative's home alone". When noone made to comment, Lupin continued, "We sent him home alone. And he's now blaming himself for what happened to Sirius. And he's becoming aware of the risks of letting anyone be friends with him. He said some things that were very unsettling yesterday"
"So what do we do?" Hermione asked, "There has to be something we can do!"
Dumbledore nodded, "What I know about wishes is they place the person's mind in a different world. And to undo a wish is excruciatingly difficult."
Hermione reached out to another pile of books, as Ron and Mrs Weasley entered. "Then I'll find out how to do it! I won't give up on Harry, and neither will any of us! We can't give up. We have to prove to Harry that he belongs here!"
Ron, who very rarely ever would research something willingly sat down at once besides Hermione, reaching for one of the books in Hermione's pile. Mrs. Weasley nodded, "I'm going to owl Arthur, Bill, and everyone! I know they'll help! I just know they will"
Lupin cast a look at Dumbledore, then sat down and grabbed another book off the table.
Dumbledore smiled for the first time that morning, "No, we could never give up on Harry". He took a chair and opened another book.
Ron looked up, "Er, Hermione, just what am I looking for anyway?"
~*~*~End of Chapter Two!~*~*~
Author's Note: If you are confused by what the two conflicting sections then listen up! The chapter should have explained why there are two different worlds being described in this story. But to help you know which one I'm writing about, I've put the real world, the one Harry left behind, in italics. The regular font is the world Harry created and entered when he made his wish in Chapter One. I hope that clears things up. The rest of the story will be written like this.
Author's note: This chapter might not make any sense the first time you read through it. So bear with it. I don't want to give anything away, so I've explained it at the bottom. So just follow along, and you'll get it afterwards.
Chapter Two
Harry turned and groaned as he felt his back muscles ache slightly. He couldn't remember anything he had done yesterday that would have made him sore. He rubbed his back which was tender.
"Ron? You up yet?" he asked slowly. "I had this really weird dream, and no it wasn't related to Voldemort". He opened his eyes in the direction of Ron's bed, only to realize it wasn't there. He blinked as he realized he wasn't even in the same bed he had been when he went to sleep last night. He knew instantly that he wasn't in 12 Grimmauld Place either. He attempted to stay calm as he got out of bed and reached for the glasses on the table near his bed.
He thought quickly of his strange dream last night. The one with the fairy Xing, who called herself a star-keeper who granted wishes. Glancing around he saw a messy room filled with Quidditch posters and merchandise. His heart began thumping heavily. Was it possible that the wish he had thought he had dreamed of had actually come true? If this really was a world where Harry wasn't the boy who lived then that meant one thing that struck Harry's mind prominently.
He yanked open the door to the room, and navigated his way down a flight of stairs, and into a kitchen where he saw a woman with auburn hair and sparkling emerald eyes, his mother, Lily Evans/Potter. And a man who looked so much like Harry, he would have thought he was staring into a mirror, his father, James Potter. He stared at them wordlessly, not sure what to say.
Lily looked up from cooking, "Harry? What are you doing up so early?" she asked smiling at him, "I don't think I've ever seen you up before 8 in the morning ever"
Harry put a hand on the table to steady himself, "Mum? Dad?" his voice was trembling uncontrollably. Both parents stared at him with concern.
"Are you sick, Harry?" Lily asked, "You were very busy yesterday. And all that quidditch without a jacket.."
Harry was scarcely aware of how deeply he was breathing as his father stood from his chair walking over to him. His breathing became more labored as James got closer.
"Just how hard did that Sirius hit you with that bludger?" James asked, "You seemed ok yesterday, but that was a good whack in your back. And Sirius is pretty good with those clubs"
"You didn't tell me Harry got hit with a bludger" Lily said sharply.
"Must have slipped my mind" James said, innocently, "It was just on his back"
Harry swallowed slowly, "I'm fine" he said. He let his mother hug him trying to restrain from crying hysterically on her shoulder.
"Well, I bet you're tired! That was some birthday you had yesterday!" James said, "Not to mention that broom Sirius and Remus got you. How come they've never given me a firebolt?"
Lily smiled and leaned over kissing James on his forehead, "Probably to keep your ego from inflating even more"
Harry sank weakly into a chair taking in everything around him. It was overwhelming to even think that this wasn't some strange dream. But he'd had life-like dreams, premonitions in a sense before, and this seemed more real than any of those had. His eyes caught a small mirror hanging on the wall. He brushed his hair on his forehead to the side slightly and saw nothing. His forehead was bare, no evidence that the lightning bolt shaped scar had ever been there. He let his eyes gaze over his reflection, then to both of his parents smiling and joking. A smile began widening and lighting up his entire face as he accepted that Harry Potter was no longer the boy who lived, but an ordinary boy like every other wizard in the world.
~*~*~
Ron rolled out of bed lazily. He had no idea what time it was, but he hoped it wasn't too late. He had hoped to hang out with Harry a little while longer before he returned to his relative's house. He felt unbelievably guilty that Harry had to go back after all the fun they had shared yesterday. He knew Harry hated staying at his muggle home, and he found time at Grimmauld Place much more exciting with Harry around.
He approached Harry's bed where he was sleeping soundly. Despite the racket Ron knew he had made getting dressed and ready for the day. "Harry? Get up you lazy prat!" he said, "Don't' tell me you plan on wasting your last few hours here sleeping!"
He reached over and shook Harry, but he didn't wake. A momentary panic swept Ron, but he persisted. "Harry! WAKE UP" he said loudly, this time hitting him firmly on the back. Still no sign of life.
Ron stood frozen in horror for a moment staring at Harry's shape on the bed. His eyes were wide in shock, and he couldn't figure out how to move his legs to get help. He managed to salvage his voice and croak help. Each cry for help more loud and urgent than the last. Oly seconds later he was shouting at the top of his lungs. "Someone! HELP! Oh God, someone help!"
Mrs. Weasley came flying into the room frantically followed by Lupin, Hermione, and Ginny.
"Ron? Ron, what's wrong?" Mrs. Weasley cried looking him over trying to detect the problem. "What's happened?"
Ron shook his head and pointed at Harry. "It's Harry! Something's wrong with Harry!" he said.
Both Lupin and Mrs Weasley scurried over to Harry's bed leaning over him. They both examined him trying to see the problem.
"Ron, I don't see anything" Mrs Weasley said.
Ron let out a cry of frustration. He marched over to the bed and seized Harry's shoulders and shook him. Harry's limp form fell against the bed as Ron let go.
Lupin's face whitened as he looked at Mrs Weasley who was now trying to wake Harry desperately.
"Harry? Come on, Harry, dear! Wake up now dear" her voice was forced with gentleness, but there was an edge of panic laced in the tone.
Hermione had come over to Ron's side now and was holding his hand tightly with tears starting to form in her eyes.
"He's...He's..not......d..dead, is he?" Ginny asked softly looking horrified.
"He's breathing" Lupin said with difficulty. He stood up and looked at the empty portrait on the wall, "Phineas? Are you there?"
A moment later the familiar face of Phineas Nigellus appeared in the frame yawning, "Now what do you want?"
"I need you to go to Dumbledore and tell him that Harry's ill" Lupin said, "Tell him he must come here immediately, that it's an emergency"
Phineas grumbled as he started to face from the picture. "Back and forth, every day! Ungrateful wizards"
Mrs Weasley now had tears streaming down her face as she cradled Harry's resting body. Lupin was watching the frame anxiously with one arm supporting Ginny. Ron's hand was almost completely crushed under Hermione's vice grip, but he didn't try to loosen his hand. Nor did he push Hermione away when Hermione leaned her head against his shoulder. Nobody saw the fairy like creature, Xing, watching through the window sadly, before returning into the sky. ~*~*~
Harry's mind was racing with hundreds of questions. He couldn't even slow his thoughts down enough to pick which one he should ask first. He ate hungrily at the food Lily had put in front of him. And a small part of him knew that Lily and James thought he, Harry, had gone nuts.
"So what are we doing today?" Harry asked.
"Oh, your father and I have a business meeting" Lily said, "But if you'd like, bring Sandra over, and you two can stay here, if you both promise not to go wandering off and behave"
Harry's mind filled with even more questions, "Who's Sandra?"
Both James and Lily were now eyeing him curiously. Harry had the distinct feeling he should have picked a more subtle way of asking.
"Don't tell me you've broken up with her already" Lily said, "I really like her, and she's such a sweet girl."
James laughed, "Not to mention you've only been talking about her all summer!" he said, "I find it hard to believe you don't like her anymore"
Harry froze, taking in what they were saying. They made it sound like Sandra was his girlfriend or something like that. He shuddered at the memory of his disasters with Cho. But he figured he'd best play it out the best he could, "Oh that Sandra! I thought you were talking about someone else" he said feebly.
James laughed, "You guys can hang out inside today" he said, "I don't want you guys outside by yourselves"
"Why not?" Harry asked, curious why being outside was such a concern. He would've thought his parents would be more concerned about him being inside alone with a girl.
His parents shifted uncomfortably, "There was another attack last night" Lily said softly, "Not far from Godric's Hollow, I'm afraid"
"Attack" Harry felt the excited rush drop as he echoed the word dully.
James nodded grimly, "Whole family" he said, "Children included. He'll stop at nothing. He hasn't got a soul, I swear."
Harry could feel his blood growing cold. Attack. It could only mean one thing. It was something he had overlooked in his hasty excitement. It had never occurred to him that Voldemort would be around. But now that he thought about it numbly, he realized how much it made sense. Without a prophecy, there was no attack on Godric's Hollow killing his parents, and that meant Voldemort's killing curse never backfired upon Harry and to Voldemort. He felt an uneasy wave overcome him briefly, but shrugged it aside.
"I'll stay inside" Harry promised.
"You know how to contact us if you need us" James said, he indicated the mirror on the wall. Harry was instantly reminded of the two way mirror that Sirius had given him last year.
"Well, I'll go floo over to Sandra's house" Lily said, "I daresay, her parents will want to make sure she arrives here with an adult"
Harry nodded as Lily walked out of the kitchen. Harry looked at James who grinned at him. "I think Padfoot, Moony, and Wormtail might come over this evening" he said, "Why don't you invite Sandra too. Padfoot's been dying to meet her"
"Uh, ok" Harry said, "I'll see what she thinks"
James raised his eyebrows, "You might want to change out of your pajamas before she gets here" he suggested with a smirk.
Harry blushed as he stared at the Gryffindor pajamas he was wearing. With another glance at his father, he turned back up the stairs to the room he had woken up in this morning. Once the door was closed behind him, he let out a long slow breath. This was his life now.
He looked into his drawers changing into clothes. He let his eyes explore the room. There were all sorts of Quidditch related things scattered everywhere. He saw some school books roughly pushed aside.
"Harry?"
Harry turned to the door and saw a girl poke her head through the door. She had shoulder length brown hair, with glittering blue eyes. She smiled at him nervously.
"Sandra?" he asked, feeling very uncomfortable.
Sandra smiled shyly, "Hello Harry" she said, "It's really nice to see you"
Harry opened his mouth to speak, but couldn't think of a single thing to say. He had never felt more helpless in his life than now.
Sandra shifted uncomfortably, "I've missed you" she added after a pause.
"Me too" Harry said quickly, "How's your summer been?"
Sandra was smiling widely now as she walked closer to Harry, "It's been good. Except for the attacks. They're so frightening. I keep wondering who it'll be next" Sandra said, "What about you?"
Harry tensed, "It's been nice. I played Quidditch with my dad, Sirius, Lupin, and Pettigrew yesterday. And Sirius and I raided Zonko's last week". Harry couldn't figure out where he had remembered that from, but somehow he knew it had happened.
"Oh, how stupid of me!" Sandra wailed, "It was your birthday yesterday! Oh, I didn't even get you a present! Harry, I'm so sorry! I'm such an idiot"
"Don't worry about it! It's ok! I don't need a present. Consider being here today a present" Harry said quickly, he sat there silently praying Sandra wouldn't start crying. Was it some curse that no matter what happened he was destined to over-emotional girls.
Sandra looked at him apprehensively, "It's not ok! What kind of girlfriend forgets her boyfriend's birthday! I'll get you one tomorrow and give it to you when we go back to school. I swear!"
Harry shook his head, "You don't have to do that" he said, "I'm serious, I don't need a present or anything. Let's just talk"
Sandra looked up him in surprise.
"What?"
Sandra shook her head disbelievingly, "What happened to you this summer?" she asked.
"What are you talking about?" Harry asked in confusion.
"It's just, you've never been this understanding before. You seem so much more laid back than you normally are" Sandra said looking guilty all of the sudden.
"Laid back?" Harry had a horrifying fleeting image of himself acting like he had seen his father act in Snape's pensieve.
Sandra shrugged apologetically, "It's not a bad thing" she said quickly, "I mean, everyone loves you at school."
Harry felt his stomach turning nervously. He didn't want to think that he might be some attention craving boy at school. Acting just like Snape was always telling him he did.
"Forget I said anything" Sandra said, "I'm just being dumb"
Harry's eyes met Sandra's. Her eyes so eager to please him and make him like her. He felt guiltily upon himself. Just what reputation did he have in this world that would make such small things seem important to Sandra. Another uneasy wave, but he ignored it. Perhaps his new life wasn't completely perfect, but Harry was sure he could make it work in the end.
~*~*~
Dumbledore arrived quickly at Grimmauld Place. He didn't bother knocking or ringing the doorbell. He stepped in and came up the stairs where he found everyone still around Harry's bed frantic.
"What's going on?" he asked at once.
There was a start in the room at his arrival. But they were quick to respond altogether, and Dumbledore was forced to ask them to all quiet themselves, and asked Lupin to explain the situation.
"Ron called us upstairs telling us he couldn't wake Harry. Molly and I attempted to revive him, but he hasn't woken him. He's not feverish, and he's not showing any signs of being sick." Lupin said, "We can't detect any spells or charms either"
Dumbledore frowned and he looked at the portrait where Phineas was pretending to not be paying attention. "Phineas, if you were following orders you should have been watching Harry the entire evening"
"Ah, Dumbledore are you implying I was doing anything but what you asked of me?" Phineas asked.
Dumbledore's frown deepened, "I should hope that is not an issue" he said, "If you were watching Harry, as you were instructed, then you may be able to give us something that might explain Harry's peculiar condition"
"It was a long night" Phineas mumbled, "I may have dozed off at certain points, but uh, let's see now."
Dumbledore's face was hardening as Phineas continued to mumble useless things.
"There was that point where he was talking to some fairy or something or other" Phineas said, finally producing something useful. Dumbledore was glaring at him to continue, "Mentioned something about wishes. I'm sorry Dumbledore, I have to confess I wasn't really paying attention."
Dumbledore turned from the portrait furiously. His eyes looked at Molly who was still holding Harry.
"Fairy? And wishes?" Ron asked, "That's a lot of help"
"But it is!" Hermione suddenly said, "I don't suppose! Ooh, if only I'd brought that book with me!"
All eyes were watching in various degrees of bewilderment and hope. Hermione stared at all the faces watching her, "I don't know what it is exactly, but the word fairy and wish rings a bell!" she said, "I just wish I could remember where I read it"
"What are you talking about?" Ron asked.
Dumbledore was staring at Hermione thoughtfully, "I think you may be onto something" he said, "It does seem to be ringing a bell with me as well. But in my age I've read so many books it could be just about any book"
"It could be any book with Hermione" Ron said groaning. "Besides didn't you just say you sold a whole lot of your books this summer in Diagon Alley?"
Hermione's eyes widened, as her face paled. She nodded slowly, "I did".
Lupin stared at Hermione, "Hermione, can you remember anything at all? Anything that could help us with Harry or in finding this book?"
Hermione's face screwed tight as she concentrated on remembering something. She began pacing back and forth for several minutes. After five minutes she stopped and said, "Star-keepers! Little fairies who grant wishes to people!"
"I thought that was just a myth" Mrs Weasley said. "An old fairy tale to explain why people wish on falling stars"
"But there's truth in every myth" Hermione countered, "After all, noone thought the chamber of secrets was real, and look what happened with that"
Dumbledore nodded, "I think we are going to have to do some research on these star-keepers, as my knowledge on them is very limited. Come, to Hogwarts. The library will have what we are looking for, I'm sure!"
They hoisted Harry's body out of the bed and carried it to the fireplace. They traveled by floo powder to Hogwarts. Mrs Weasley brought Harry to the hospital wing for Madame Pomfrey to tend Harry. Ron was sent to the owlery and sent a letter to Harry's muggle home, saying Harry was going to spend the summer with them. Lupin and Hermione followed Dumbledore to the library.
The three devoured book after book in myths. It was Hermione who found information first!
"This is it! This is the book" she cried triumphantly and opened the book hastily"Listen, Star-keepers are known to be fairy creatures who travel among the stars. Sightings of these strange fairies are so rare, that through time they have come to be believed as nothing more than myths. There are very few star-keeper encounters recorded in history. However almost all encounters with a star-keeper has been with a person feeling an emotion of despair. An encounter with a star-keeper has been recorded as being offered a chance to make one wish, which is why so little is known about star-keepers beyond their ability to grant wishes."
Hermione handed the book to Dumbledore dismayed, "That doesn't really help us much, I'm afraid."
"But was Harry truly that unhappy?" Dumbledore asked reading it over. "All of the cases listed here make the person sound almost suicidal. Harry's letters have all seemed happy enough to me recently"
"As have mine" Hermione said.
Lupin shook his head, "Letters can be deceiving" he said, "I was going to tell you this, but before we arrived at headquarters yesterday. Harry was very upset. We shouldn't have sent him to his relative's home alone". When noone made to comment, Lupin continued, "We sent him home alone. And he's now blaming himself for what happened to Sirius. And he's becoming aware of the risks of letting anyone be friends with him. He said some things that were very unsettling yesterday"
"So what do we do?" Hermione asked, "There has to be something we can do!"
Dumbledore nodded, "What I know about wishes is they place the person's mind in a different world. And to undo a wish is excruciatingly difficult."
Hermione reached out to another pile of books, as Ron and Mrs Weasley entered. "Then I'll find out how to do it! I won't give up on Harry, and neither will any of us! We can't give up. We have to prove to Harry that he belongs here!"
Ron, who very rarely ever would research something willingly sat down at once besides Hermione, reaching for one of the books in Hermione's pile. Mrs. Weasley nodded, "I'm going to owl Arthur, Bill, and everyone! I know they'll help! I just know they will"
Lupin cast a look at Dumbledore, then sat down and grabbed another book off the table.
Dumbledore smiled for the first time that morning, "No, we could never give up on Harry". He took a chair and opened another book.
Ron looked up, "Er, Hermione, just what am I looking for anyway?"
~*~*~End of Chapter Two!~*~*~
Author's Note: If you are confused by what the two conflicting sections then listen up! The chapter should have explained why there are two different worlds being described in this story. But to help you know which one I'm writing about, I've put the real world, the one Harry left behind, in italics. The regular font is the world Harry created and entered when he made his wish in Chapter One. I hope that clears things up. The rest of the story will be written like this.